39 - JOSÉ MARÍA MARQUÉS GARCÍA (Tortosa, Tarragona, 1862 – Barcelona, 1936).

JOSÉ MARÍA MARQUÉS GARCÍA (Tortosa, Tarragona, 1862 – Barcelona, 1936). “Patio.” Milan, 1884. Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower right corner. Measurements: 64 x 50 cm; 80 x 65 cm (frame). The son and student of Manuel Marqués Carles, and father of the painter José María Marqués Puig, José María Marqués García devoted himself to landscape, portraiture, and religious scenes. He began his training at the Escuela de La Lonja in Barcelona and continued his studies in Madrid, Paris, and Rome. He traveled throughout Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, and held various solo and group exhibitions. He also participated in competitions and exhibitions, notably the 1888 Barcelona World’s Fair, the 1898 London International Exhibition—where he won a gold medal—and the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. During the last decade of the 19th century, critics ranked him among the most important artists of the time. He created a work titled “Our Lady of the Academy,” commissioned for the Bibliographic-Marian Society of Lleida, and decorated the famous “Justin” restaurant in Barcelona. His works can be viewed at the National Art Museum of Catalonia and the Tortosa Museum.